It was with pleasure that the IRPP held its 2023 Fall Lecture in Ottawa on Wednesday, November 8, 2023 at the National Arts Centre.

The evening featured a keynote lecture by University of Toronto professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, co-author of the 2023 book Waiting to Inhale: Cannabis Legalization and the Fight for Racial Justice. The lecture was followed by a lively networking reception, offering the chance to mix and mingle with Canada’s dynamic policy community. We also took the opportunity to officially launch a call for applications for our new IRPP Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Support of Indigenous, Black, and Other Racialized Scholars.

While there was no charge to attend this event, guests were encouraged to donate to the fellowship, which helped support early-career policy leaders who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a racialized person.

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About our speaker

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah

Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto and Senior Fellow and Board Chair, Massey College

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah

Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto and Senior Fellow and Board Chair, Massey College

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah is an academic, author and changemaker. He is a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, and senior fellow and board chair at Massey College. His research examines the intersections of race, crime and criminal justice. Prior to becoming a professor, he held positions with Canada’s National Judicial Institute, the Public Health Agency of Canada and Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General. He frequently appears on radio and television, and publishes regularly in academic and popular forums. Akwasi’s work and commentary has recently been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Guardian and The Globe and Mail.